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Publisher's Summary

The Pope is dead.

Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, 118 cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals.

Over the next 72 hours, one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth.

I too a chance on this book and am so glad I did. It was both well written and beautifully narrated. An interesting insight into the whole process of electing a new pope, with intrigue. What's not to love!

It’s now very nearly thirty years - September 1987 - since my bout of Stendhal syndrome in the Sistine Chapel, three hours with a lump in my throat sitting staring up at that ceiling and around the walls wishing never to leave - having been back to that spot only once and having that spoiled by the crowds. Any opportunity to re-live the experience is one that I’ll not pass over - so, on that basis, I threw open the doors on this current best seller.

Initially, it’s hard to avoid falling into the brother Brown-town trap of reading Conclave like an Infernorous thriller and racing to find out whowunnit. And, there was for me a disappointment that, inevitably, the narrative is based on finding the arrière-pensée rather than the vérité of Moretti’s Habemus Pappam cinematic working of the same story. More than made up for, however, by my taking the opportunity between installments to view Michaelangelo’s works on line and relive a happy time in the long ago past.

The story has to be judged on its own merits: an enjoyable romp through the Vatican pomp, which fleshes out an entertaining cast of Borgiagese pretenders to the Holy See, a fiction that pitches belief against science and amuses with a vision of the near future that is absolutely new Millennium contemporary - its white smoke from me......and an Old Pope screen adaptation, I wonder?

Robert Harris delivers a very good yarn full of intrigue and ritual, making as feel as if we are part of this private club of men that are served by women they suppress, a gentlemen's club where god whispers his desires into the minds of men that have no concept of a terrestrial reality, sequestered from the world but not uninfluenced by it, in a place where greed and power are as strongly felt as in any other institution of power, except that every idea is attributed to the holy spirit and given a motivation to satisfy men,s kingdom of god's kingdom.

Well written, and entertaining while not being offencive to believers or others, delivering a good story that will work for most people no matter where they stand in the religious spectrum.

The subject of this novel, the election of a new pope, did not immediately appeal to my interests, however, as someone who has always enjoyed Robert Harris's works, I felt that it was likely to overcome my reservations.

And indeed it did. I was gripped from the word go!

There is a powerful sense of being able to secretly enter a world, which is otherwise totally impenetrable to most of mankind, and to observe the unobservable. I have to admit to being somewhat awestruck by the sense of being there with the cardinals, in the thick of it.

The leading character, Lomelli, is superbly developed, along with a good many others too, providing a depth to the story line which more than compensates for the constraints of writing about a repetitive process of voting sessions. So many twists and turns occur, that I found myself longing for the next round of voting in order to see how things would transpire.

To my mind, the plot was very well paced, never losing its sense of direction or momentum, and typifies Harris's prowess as an outstanding author. The eventual outcome have you tingling with surprise!

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightfully different novel.

As always, Roy McMillan is brilliant in his reading.

I write as someone who is not a Catholic, and who has no knowledge of the workings of the Vatican, and therefore I took everything at face value.

Probably the best book I've listened to this year. His skill and polish as a writer shine through, showing just how unsophisticated a lot of current authors are. As a non religious person I wasn't sure if the subject matter would hold my interest, but it really did. Along with all the technical details of both the Roman Catholic practices and the Conclave itself, which you accept as accurate and very interesting, the characters are so well rounded that you can believe they are good but flawed men. I found myself understanding and caring about characters who held totally contrary opinions to myself, due to the skilful portrait of them by Mr Harris. The mystery unfolds slowly and the last twist is wonderful! Could be room for a second book?

Excellent book with great detail and plenty of political intrigue within the Vatican. Narrator superb. Unfortunately, the ending was too contrived and brought me down with a bump!!

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Sandy

BUCKETTY, Australia

17/10/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Engrossing"

Roy Mcmillon (McMillan?) read very well and matches the tone of this story. Robert Harris writes well.

I found this book almost as good as 'The Ghost', that Robert Harris wrote some years ago.

Our Dean, in telling his own story is an exact and very likeable person who begins to take a few risks and moves away from his established comfort zone in order to do his 'job' well.Do not expect 'leaping over tall buildings' or 'spy vs spy' or contrived plots. You as reader or listener may guess the outcome and it really does not spoil the story at all. Another story you may find is about a man we only meet as a corpse. There is an absence perhaps of the high drama of Harris's Cicero trilogy and for me 'Conclave' remains compelling.If you have already read and enjoyed Harris's other books and wonder how the election of a Pope could stand up to his other works, my only response is 'this book is well worth your credit and your time'.

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